Favorite Films of 2010

Yum. This is how it's done, laydeez!

The Oscars just happened. Yeah. Did you watch that? I spent the evening with no TV alongside Dsan, the cat and Harry Potter #4. LOVED IT!

I did peek at the dresses online the next morning (Jennifer Hudson’s tangerine dream may have been the best part of the evening) and gave a quick run through the top categories to spot the winners. No real surprises there, but I was surprised at some of the nominees, which, in my book, should win something and should certainly make it on your list of films to check out.

The Illusionist

(Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film)

A well-timed kindness in the form of red Mary Janes is the point at which the story takes off in this beautifully drawn film, originally written by Jacques Tati.

The soundtrack is enchanting and literally every single frame is something you want to linger on. This is the kind of animation that makes me happy. There’s feeling and tenderness in it–love of craft as well as respect for the story–and the viewer.

It is a story for humans, about humans and by humans, and it is quite a piece of work. Trѐs charmant! Even a little clip of “Mon Oncle” figures in when the main character dashes into a movie theater!

The fact that it’s a quiet little film (no dialogue) was a surprise to me, but utterly delightful as it allowed more time and focus to be concentrated on the richness of the animation. My love and I even thought of trying a silent experiment of our own. One day with absolutely no talking (to each other). Wonder how much more we would notice if we just spent more time being quiet. (And wonder when we’d stop talking once we started again!)

Exit Through The Gift Shop

(Nominated for Best Documentary-Feature Length)

Whether documentary or mock-u-mentary, this film by British street artist Banksy is good times. Clever, weird in the way that only real life can be and laugh-out-loud hilarious, this film is an education in the fascinating subculture of street/graffiti art.

We never see Banksy but are privy to a number of his finest works (printing and circulating money featuring Princess Di’s face instead of the Queen’s, rewelding a phone booth to appear snapped in two but leaving it otherwise unaltered, etc.) and some of his choice one-liners like, “See what I do falls into a bit of legal grey area…”.

Thierry’s story is one you can believe and even empathize with–and so is Banksy’s reaction at the film’s conclusion! A bit like a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein and monster.

Waste Land

(Nominated for Best Documentary-Feature Length)

I saw Waste Land at the Seattle International Film Festival where it won the audience choice award for Best Documentary. It will change your life.

I’m not sure where to begin because that’s a big statement but I’m convinced that this film is really that powerful.

The story follows Vik Muniz, a Brazilian artist who has moved to the U.S. and enjoys considerable success with his unique portrait art. With an idea in mind for his next project, he goes back to Brazil and spends time with some of the folks who live and work in the largest landfill in the world, Jardim Gramacho.

They work as “catadores” or “pickers” rifling through mountains of refuse picking out recyclable materials that they turn in for money. It’s a community service, which no one else wants to do, for which they receive very little pay, and yet, and this may be the life-changing part, for which every one of them is grateful. And we get to hear them say so. Now, keep in mind, being grateful is different than being stoked to go to work each day and investing yourself in a job that means something to you. But insofar as it does mean that they can support themselves and hold their heads up because of how they get by, the pickers each acknowledge that things could be worse.

The women are proud to have a job other than prostitution and the men are supporting their families and their passions with the work they do to survive.

Each becomes a subject of a piece that they work on with Muniz using found materials from the Jardim Gramacho. One person’s trash becomes another person’s portrait and yet another person’s treasure when several of the pieces go to auction in London. Recycling materials leads to recycling identities.

This film will leave you feeling triumphant. Because art can and does change and save lives. And everything we do, after all, is art.